Old Sins Cast Long Shadows 2
by Chris Rudy
Summary: After believing they have peace, a group of friends are suddenly thrown back into the supernatural when they realize another group of people know about an evil in the woods of the town of Westchester. Will the two groups be able to defeat this evil? Find out as the story goes on.
1. Chapter 1: A New Home

**Old Sins Cast Long Shadows 2**

 **This will be set before the beginning of It Lives In The Woods**

 **I'll try to focus evenly on my characters and the characters from the story**

 **I'm gonna go with what I call my 'default' look and name I use for the MC of It Lives**

* * *

-Chris-

I watch my pet bat, Fang, and Mittens, my girlfriend Chelsea's cat, as they play together in the backseat of my car. In the backseat is my currently sleeping pet wolf, Snarl, while on my right is my also currently sleeping girlfriend, Chelsea Jernigan.

I pick up the microphone off my CB radio and press the button to talk to the others on the bus.

"How much further, navigator?" I ask one of my friends, Violet Gordon, who was riding in a bus with her girlfriend, and my best friend, Jordan Starks, along with the rest of our group of friends, Alaric Santos, Marissa Carver, Kyra Jones, Sapphire Thompson, Scarlett Marcus, and Amanda Harris. I take my finger off the button.

 _"Well, according to the map, we're about an hour away now."_ Violet says.

 _"Finally!"_ Jordan says.

 _"What's going on?"_ Alaric asks.

"We're almost there." I say.

 _"Sweet."_ Marissa says.

We are headed to a town called Westchester, Oregon for college. I'd gotten brochures for a couple of their universities in the mail, along with others and my friends and I decided to go to college here.

 _"Think there'll be some supernatural happenings here?"_ Amanda asks.

 _"Dios mío, I hope not."_ Sapphire says. _"Not after what we dealt with last year."_ She adds.

Last year, we were an average bunch of high school seniors, hoping to get through school with little trouble. Yeah, not the best of luck for us. Elemental, who we called Ellie for short, began haunting our hometown of Jasper. After the death of one of our classmates, Violet and Amanda's friend, Kai Bennett, we began to retaliate against Ellie. Not long after discovering she was once Eleanor Stevens, our town's renowned supernatural expert, we defeated and destroyed her.

We soon arrive in the town of Westchester and Kyra sends Chelsea a picture of a house big enough for all of us during our time in town and I glance at it when I stop at a red light.

"It's nice. Garage looks big enough and it's fenced in with a lot of land." I say then hit the button on the mic. "You got good taste in housing, Ky." I say then take my finger off the button and start to drive again.

 _"Thanks."_ Kyra says.

We soon arrive at the house Kyra got us and see a woman standing in the driveway. We all climb out, Chelsea holding Mittens while I get Snarl on his leash as Fang sits on my right shoulder.

"Oh, my!" She says at the sight of Snarl.

"It's okay. He won't hurt anyone. I have him trained." I assure her.

She nods then looks over my left shoulder as I see Kyra walk to us. "You must be Miss Grayson." Kyra says.

"That's me. And I take it you're Miss Kyra Jones." The woman says.

Kyra nods.

"Well, the place is big enough for all ten of you and your furry friends." Miss Grayson says then hands us ten identical keys. "Here are your keys to get in the house. But I'm sure you all will pitch in on the rent."

We all nod. After that, she places one key each in our hands then Chelsea and I take Snarl, Fang, and Mittens inside and let them enjoy the backyard while we all get our things inside.

* * *

After we're settled into our rooms, we see it's in the afternoon and since we're all still energized, we head into town. Fang stays at the house to sleep, so I have Snarl on his leash while Mittens lays across Chelsea's shoulders like a scarf as we walk around and learn our way through town.

While walking, I spot a girl with short hair on one side and long hair on the other side, a necklace, a black shirt under a leather jacket with a red plaid shirt tied around her waist, ripped short shorts, dark pantyhose, and boots sitting at a table outside a coffee shop so Chelsea and I walk to her.

"Hi." Chelsea says, getting the girl to look at us.

"Hi." She says.

"I love that outfit." Chelsea says.

"Oh, thank you. It's one of my favorites." The girl says then extends her hand. "I'm Anna."

Anna and Chelsea shake hands. "I'm Chelsea." Chelsea says then nods at me. "And this is my boyfriend, Chris."

Anna and I shake hands then she looks at Snarl. "Hi, boy." She says with a smile then looks at me. "Can I...?"

I nod. "Yeah, go ahead. He's a friendly wolf."

She smiles then pets Snarl. He soon licks her hand and I smile.

"What's his name?" She asks.

"Snarl." I say.

She nods then soon looks at Mittens. "And who's this little cutie?" She asks.

"This is my cat, Mittens." Chelsea says. "You can pet her. She's a good kitty."

Anna nods then pets Mittens, who soon starts purring. Anna smiles as a result and I see the rest of my friends walking to us. They introduce themselves to Anna and vice versa.

"So, what brings you guys to boring old Westchester?" Anna asks.

"We came here for college." I say.

"Cool." She says.

I nod.

"Plus we need some time away from home." Sapphire says.

"Bad memories?"

"That's putting it mildly." Alaric says.

We spend a couple hours talking with Anna before heading back to our place.

"What should we do?" Scarlett asks.

"Well, since it's still summer vacation here, let's put together a pool party." Violet says.

We all look at each other then agree to set up for a pool party.

* * *

 **That's chapter one. I hope you guys will enjoy this. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2: Cousins Reunited

**Author's Note: Since Chris is an OC I created, I made him a cousin of Britney in this. It'll also mention some mental health issues, mainly anxiety**

* * *

-Chris-

I wake up in the morning and send a text to my cousin, Britney. Anna had said she'd become a different person, but I knew she'd be the same person for me since we're family. My parents brought me to see my cousin every summer when I was a kid, so Britney and I get along really well.

My text asks her to meet me at a coffee shop. _"I hope you know how lucky you are, because if it was anyone else, I'd still be asleep."_ Her response is.

 _"It's 8 in the morning, Brit."_ I text.

 _"During summer vacation."_ She reminds me.

I roll my eyes then climb out of bed and get dressed. Once dressed, Fang flies to me and lands on my left shoulder. I pick up Snarl's leash and put it on his collar then the three of us head into town. Soon enough, a girl with shoulder length brown hair, tan skin, wearing a pink shirt under a leather jacket, jeans, and boots walks to me and my furry friends while I'm waiting at the coffee shop.

"Hey, cuz." She says with a smile.

"Hey, Britney." I say then she and I hug.

She looks at Snarl. "And who's this?" She asks.

"This is Snarl." I say.

"Can I...?" She starts and I nod. She slowly puts her hand out to Snarl, who sniffs her hand then licks it. She smiles then pets him. "And the little one?" She asks.

"This is Fang. I rescued these two last year. Snarl was just a pup then." I say.

She smiles. "You always did have a soft spot for animals." She says.

"You're one to talk about soft spots." I say. "If my memory serves, you always comforted me when I had panic attacks." I remind her.

She nods then looks at me. "How've you been on that front?" She asks.

"My record is almost a year now." I say.

She smiles brightly. "That's good!" She says.

I nod. "Okay, enough about me. Your turn. What's been going on with my favorite cousin?" I ask.

"Well, I'm on the Westchester Wolves' cheer squad." She says.

I smile. "That's good." I say. "Let me know the schedule and I'll come to a game." I add.

"You got it." She says. "So, why'd you ask me to meet up with you?" She asks.

"Two reasons. One, I wanted to catch up a bit with you." I say, and she smiles. "And two, my friends and I are thinking of throwing a pool party at the place we're crashing at while we attend college here." I finish.

"And let me guess. You need help getting word out." She says and I nod.

"But first, would you like to see the house?" I ask. "You could meet my friends, too." I say.

She smiles and nods. After I get a vanilla bean frappuccino for me and a coffee for her, we leave for the house.

* * *

We soon arrive at the house.

"Holy shit! How can you and your friends afford to rent this place?" Britney asks.

"My friend, Kyra, is the daughter of Jasper's mayor." I say as we walk inside and I see my friends and girlfriend are up. I introduce Britney to them and vice versa.

"You never told us you had a cousin in town." Rick says.

"Y'all never asked." I say.

"Any friend of Chris's is a friend of mine." Britney says.

"You're not as awful as Anna said." Amanda says.

"Mandy!" Violet hisses then looks at Britney. "Sorry about her. She tends to put her foot in her mouth."

"It's okay. I can be awful at times, but I have a soft spot for my cousin here." Britney says.

"Yeah, I can't even count the number of times she's stuck up for me." I say.

Afterwards, I show Britney around the house, ending at the pool house. "So, what do you think?" I ask.

"I think this is a good place for a party. I'll help spread the word." She says.

I smile and hug her. "You are awesome." I say.

"I know." She says, hugging back.

Once inside again, Mittens walks to Britney.

"Oh, my gosh, what a cute little kitten!" Britney says.

"Thank you." Chelsea says as Mittens nuzzles against Britney's legs. "I've spoiled her rotten." She adds.

Britney picks Mittens up. "What's her name?" She asks Chelsea.

"Mittens." Chelsea replies.

Britney smiles and pets Mittens. "Hi, Mittens. Who's such a cute little girl?" She asks. Mittens purrs and mews at the same time.

Britney giggles.

I look at Violet and Chelsea. "You two have something in common with Britney." I say and they look curiously at me. "She's a cheerleader, too."

"Yeah?" Violet asks and Britney nods, smiling.

* * *

After a while, we start setting up for the party. Rick and I start by getting the speakers set up while the girls take care of food and drinks.

"Was she being serious?" Rick asks. I know he's talking about Britney.

"Yeah." I say as we set the final speaker down and hook it up. "Brit and I have always been there for each other."

"Even with your... episodes?" He asks. My friends know I have anxiety.

I nod. "Yeah. She learned pretty quickly how to help me." I say.

He nods.

* * *

After a while, people start to arrive as Scarlett mans the turntables. Britney and I hang around each other, catching up. Two people walk up to us. One is a girl with long brown hair and slightly tan skin. She's wearing a beige blouse under a denim jacket, jeans and heels. The other is a guy with brown hair and pale skin. He's wearing a grey and red hooded plaid shirt over a white T, jeans and shoes.

"Jocelyn, Cody! I'm glad you guys made it." Britney says to them.

Cody looks at me then back to Britney. "Who's this chump you're hanging out with?" He asks.

Britney turns a glare to him. "For your information, he's my cousin, Chris." She says. "And I don't tolerate when people say things like that about him in front of me." She adds.

I snap my fingers and Snarl starts growling at Cody, who looks at him. "Whoa, is that a...?" He starts.

"A wolf?" I finish then nod. "Yes, he is. And he's highly trained. One more snap of my fingers, and he will maul you." I say then whistle quickly. Snarl calms down quickly.

Cody frowns at me then walks off.

"Sorry about him." Britney says.

I shrug. "Not the first time I've dealt with an asshole." I say.

"So, how close are you two?" Jocelyn asks.

"We may be cousins, but we love each other like a brother and sister." I say.

* * *

After talking to Jocelyn for a bit and partying with everyone, the party winds down a couple hours after midnight. Britney and Jocelyn let their folks know they're crashi with me for the night. After they come back with pajamas and clothes for tomorrow, they take two guest rooms then we all head to bed and fall asleep.

* * *

 **That's chapter two. As this chapter shows, and because I plan to experiment with Britney being nice to at least one other person besides eventually Lily, Chris and Britney are really close and care about each other as a family. Anyway, review and I'll post more chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3: Family Time

-Chris-

I wake up 9 in the morning and get dressed then head downstairs. Since we'd gotten groceries while learning our way around town, I start working on biscuits, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

"I didn't know you cooked." I hear Britney say.

I nod, smiling at her. "My mom taught me." I say as I turn back to the eggs.

"Your folks may not be married anymore, but Susan will always be my aunt." She says.

That makes me smile. My mom always did think of Britney as the daughter she never had.

"It's a good thing you said that because I plan on Skyping her later today." I tell her.

"Only if I get to be a part of it." She says.

"Of course you can, cuz." I say.

"So, a cheerleader, eh?" She asks. I know she's talking about Chelsea.

"And Homecoming and Prom Queen." I hear Chelsea add.

Britney and I look at her as she and Snarl walk down to us with Mittens draped across her shoulders.

"I was the Prom King." I say.

"But not Homecoming?" Britney asks.

"Nope. That crown went to Jake, Pickens High's star quarterback." I say.

"Guy's a douche bag, but he throws a helluva party." Chelsea says.

I make enough for everyone and soon set it up. Britney gives me a hand in setting up the table.

"Hey, cuz?" Britney says.

"Hmm?" I say.

"If you're looking for a way to be involved at the high school, there's a couple ways for that." She says.

I nod, smiling. "Thanks, Brit. I'll talk to your school's principal sometime before school starts."

She nods, smiling as well.

The others soon walk downstairs as the table is set. We all sit at the table and start to eat.

"So, how long have you and Chelsea been together, Chris?" Britney asks.

"Almost a year." I say. Chelsea nods.

"You two seem happy together." Jocelyn says.

"Thanks, Joss." I say.

Snarl walks to Jocelyn, who spots him and looks scared. "N-Nice doggy... N-Nice doggy..." She says.

"It's okay, Joss. He won't hurt you." I say. "He loves bacon. Don't ya, boy?" I ask Snarl and he barks happily.

Jocelyn slowly hands him a strip and he gently takes it in his mouth then starts eating it.

Fang flies to me and I feen her a banana slice.

"What's next, a bear?" Britney teases.

"Oh, God no." I say, laughing. Britney laughs with me.

"So, Britney... Chris told me you know about his... problem." Alaric says.

Britney nods. "Yeah. I was with him when he had his first panic attack."

"You have panic attacks?" Jocelyn asks.

I nod. "It's been almost a year since I had a major one." I say.

"Oh, hey, Chris." Britney says.

"Hmm?" I ask.

"I'm having my Sweet 16 in a week. Wanna come?" She asks.

"Sure, I'll come if my friends can." I say.

"Absolutely!" Britney says.

* * *

After breakfast, Britney and I walk to the coffee shop, Snarl on his leash while he walks beside Britney, who's holding his leash. I'd contacted her school's principal, Mrs. Flores, about helping out at the school. Soon, a woman with blonde hair, brown eyes and tan skin, wearing a business suit walks to us.

"Mr. Rudy?" She says, looking at me.

I nod. "That's me." I say.

"I'm Principal Flores." She says and we shake hands. "Britney here tells me you're interested in being involved at the high school." She says and I nod. "The school's Physical Education coach has been asking for a helping hand for P.E. How are you with that?" She asks.

"That actually is perfect for me. My high school's coach often let me help him out during Phys. Ed." I say.

She smiles and nods. "Wonderful. How soon would you like to start?" She asks.

"I could start out this year if you'd like, ma'am." I say.

"Perfect." She says smiling then she and I shake hands.

"I actually have a request." I say.

"Of course." She says.

"It's actually is about my pet wolf, Snarl." I say, nodding at him. "I was wondering if I could have him with me on campus?" I ask. "It's just, with me and my friends being in college, I'm a little worried about leaving him at home." I say.

She looks like she's debating it, before she looks at me. "Well, I suppose we could have him on campus. Assuming he's well trained of course." She says.

I nod. "He is highly trained. I've raised him since he was a pup." I say.

She nods. "One more thing." She says and I nod. "We actually could use an actual mascot for our sporting events. Would you be willing to let Snarl be our school's mascot?" She asks.

"If it means he'll get to be kept on campus with me, then yes." I say.

She smiles and nods. "Marvelous." She says and I smile as we shake hands and after that, Britney and I start to walk away. As we leave, I spot a girl with gray eyes and brown hair in a braided ponytail wearing a purple cardigan over a white shirt, dark jeans, and heels.

"Hi, Stacy!" Britney says.

Stacy looks at her. "Hey." She says then looks at me. "I recognize you. You had that pool party." She says.

I nod and extend my hand. "Chris Rudy. I'm Britney's cousin." I say.

"Stacy Green. It's nice to officially meet you." She says.

"Likewise." I say.

Stacy looks at Snarl. "Who's this?" She asks.

"This is our school's new mascot, and Chris's pet, Snarl." Britney says.

Stacy looks at me. "Can i...?" She asks.

I nod. "Yeah. He's a good boy." I say.

She nods then pets him and he licks her hand. She smiles.

After talking with Stacy for a bit, Stacy heads off to meet up with her mother, the mayor. Britney heads to her house and Snarl and I head to ours.

* * *

 **That's chapter three. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	4. Chapter 4: Last Day of Peace

**Author's Note: The hairstyles for Amber and Callie are inspired by both of the makeovers from Kaitlyn in The Freshman and The Sophomore, which I do not own. Also, I don't own any songs mentioned in this chapter.**

* * *

-Chris-

Towards the evening, Britney stops by the house after I logged into Skype to talk to my mom.

"Did I miss it?" She asks as she and I walk to my room.

I shake my head. "You're just in time." I say then send vid call to my mom.

She soon answers. "Hey, Son." She says then sees Britney. "Britney, is that you?"

Britney nods, smiling. "It's me, Aunt Susan." She says.

"Oh, look how beautiful you've become." Mom says then a woman walks to her. It's her new girlfriend she told me about.

"This must be Vanessa, Mom." I say.

She nods. "Vanessa, this is my son, Christopher." Mom says.

"It's nice to meet you, Chris." Vanessa says.

"Likewise." I say. "I was hoping to meet your twin daughters, Amber and Callie, too."

"I can go get then, if you'd like." Vanessa offers.

"Oh, that's okay. Maybe next time." I say then realize something. "Oh, right. Vanessa, this pretty girl behind me is my cousin, Britney."

"It's nice to meet you, Britney." Vanessa says.

Britney smiles and nods.

"So, what's happened so far for you in Westchester, Son?" Mom asks.

"Well, I spoke to the principal of the high school Britney is attending about helping out at the school and she said yes." I say. "And, for the next four years I'll be here, Snarl will be Westchester High's mascot." I add.

"Snarl?" Vanessa asks.

"My son's pet wolf." Mom says and Snarl stands on his hind legs and starts licking my face.

"Snarl!" I say, laughing. He soon barks happily.

"He is a cute little guy." Vanessa says.

"Who's a cute little guy, Mama?" A girl asks. Into view walks two girls, one with the top half of her hair black and the bottom half was colored purple, and the other with both sides of her head from her temples shaved and the top half of her hair being dark blue and the bottom half being red.

"Susan's son's wolf." Vanessa says.

The girl looks at Snarl. "He is a cutie." She says.

"You must be Amber and Callie." I say.

The girl with the black and purple hair nods. "That's us. I'm Amber."

"I'm Callie. And you must be Chris." The other girl says.

I nod. "That I am. And this is my cousin Britney."

"You are hot, Britney." Callie says.

"Thanks, Callie." Britney says.

I catch up with my mom for a couple minutes, then end the Skype call. As soon as I do, I get a Skype vid call from my dad, but I ignore it. Britney stays at the house while I head to my car for a drive through town. Once I start my car, I let the top down and hook my phone up to the car and start my Spotify. The first song that plays is Hangover by PSY and Snoop Dogg. I drive into town, singing along to the song.

* * *

I get to the end of the song when I spot Anna leaving the library. I pull up to her. "Headed somewhere?" I ask.

She looks at me. "My house." She says.

"Hop in." I say. She hops over the door into the car. I follow her directions to her house. I almost slam on the breaks when I notice she lives near the woods, but I gently stop the car.

"You okay?" She asks.

"Yeah. I just..." I say then trail off. "Let's just say I have a little problem with woods." I tell her.

"I'm sorry." She says. "So, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Fire away." I say.

"How well do you and your cousin get along?"

I shut the car off and look at her. "She's more like a sister to me than a cousin. She's always been there for me." I say then hesitate for a second. "She was with me when I had my first panic attack." I reveal.

"I'm sorry for prying." She says.

I shake my head. "It ain't your fault." I say then take a look at the woods.

"So... what's the story with you and woods?" She asks as we get out of my car.

"...You'd laugh or call me crazy." I say.

"Try me." She says.

"Maybe one day, but not today." I say.

She nods. "Okay."

"I met a girl named Stacy earlier today." I say.

I see her blush. "Stacy Green?"

"Yeah."

"...She's beautiful, isn't she?" She asks shyly.

"She is pretty, but I have a girl." I say then smirk. "You like her, don't you?"

She tries to hide behind her hair. "...Yeah."

"Better tell her." I suggest.

She slowly nods then a dog with black and white fur and an orange bandana around the neck runs up to Anna, who smiles. "Hi, Hilda." She says.

Hilda barks happily then flops onto her back and Anna rubs her belly. She soon sniffs me then licks my hand. I smile then see a man with brown hair, and beard, wearing a brown, orange and white plaid shirt, jeans and boots, walking up to us. "Hey, neighbor." He says.

"Hey, Cid." Anna says.

Cid looks at me. "You must be Chris. Anna mentioned you. I'm Cid, her neighbor."

I shake his hand. "Nice to meet you, Cid."

"Likewise. Anna tells me you have a wolf for a pet?" Cid says.

I nod. "I could bring him by sometime. I think he and Hilda would become great friends."

"That sounds great." He says.

I nod, smiling a bit then look at Anna. "I'll see you later."

"Sure thing." She says.

I get back in my car, start it up and jam to my Spotify as I drive home. Once home, I get ready for bed then fall asleep with Chelsea, Snarl and Mittens in the bed.

* * *

 **That's chapter four. Next chapter will be the beginning of It Lives In The Woods. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	5. Chapter 5: Everything Changes

**Author's** **Note: This** **chapter** **will** **be** **set** **at** **the** **beginning** **of** **It** **Lives** **In** **The** **Woods**

* * *

-Chris-

I'm up in the morning and I get dressed. I head downstairs and start working on breakfast. I'd talked to my professors yesterday and let them know I'd be helping out at Westchester High and they'd worked a schedule out for days when I wouldn't be helping at the high school. Chelsea had also arranged with Principal Flores to help out around the school.

I head downstairs and start working on breakfast. The others soon walk downstairs.

We all soon sat down and ate breakfast.

"Oh, babe?" Chelsea says.

"Hmm?" I say.

"While you were working on breakfast, Anna texted and asked for a lift. I told her we'd pick her up and head for the school." She says.

"Thanks, Chels." I say.

"No problem." She says.

"Looking forward to helping out people at the high school?" Kyra asks.

I nod. "Anything to help." I say.

She nods.

"I worked my class schedule around days I wouldn't be needed at the high school." I say.

The others nod. After breakfast, Chelsea, Snarl, and I head to my car while the others walk to the university's campus.

* * *

We soon arrive at Anna's house and Snarl and I step out and see Anna, Cid, and Hilda in the yard so Snarl and I walk to them.

"Mornin', y'all." I say, getting them to look at me.

"Morning, Chris." They both say.

Cid looks at Snarl. "This must be your pet wolf." He says.

I nod. "This is Snarl."

Snarl and Hilda sniff each other then give each other a friendly lick. I smile at them.

I soon spot a strange black stone with a weird rune carved into it and pick it up. "Huh. I've never seen a stone like this before." I say. I hand it to Anna and she has a look at it.

"I wonder where this came from... and what broke it." Anna says.

"Looks like a paperweight to me." Cid says.

Anna takes a whiff of the stone. I can see an expression on her face that I recognize as her trying to think of an excuse.

"It smells kinda weird." She says.

Cid and Hilda soon leave. Once they're gone, I see Anna heading to the shed in her yard so Snarl and I walk with her. She tried opening her shed, and I look at her.

"Need a hand?" I ask.

She nods then steps aside and I kick the door open in two kicks. She says the stone on the work table. "I could probably fit all kinds of things in here." She says.

I nod. "Probably." I say then the three of us head to my car. Anna and Snarl get in the backseat while I get in the driver's seat.

While leaving, I hear another car coming down the road. I see it's a black Camaro. The driver pulls up beside my car and looks at Anna.

"Do I know you?" He asks, his tone curious.

"I think so. Do you go to Westchester High?" She asks.

"Not anymore, thankfully. Left that hellhole behind two years ago." He says.

"Lucky you." She says.

"You'll be out of there before you know it." I tell her.

"I gotta get to work, but maybe I'll see you guys later." He says then drives off.

We soon arrive at the high school then Chelsea, Snarl, and I go to meet up with Principal Flores and meet the rest of the staff.

* * *

-Anna-

While Chris, Chelsea, and Snarl meet everyone that works at the school, I spot an old friend at a locker next to mine.

"Hey, Ava." I say.

"Sup." She says.

"Not much. That wasn't always your locker, was it?" I ask.

"Got reassigned." She responds. I nod as she closes her locker. "Oh, look, here comes Lily."

"H-Hi, guys." Lily says.

"Hey, Lily. How was your summer?" I ask.

"Not bad. Just got back from a coding camp in Portland." Lily says. "One of the girls even asked me to collaborate with her on a game she's working on."

"Nice. Let me know if you need a playtester." I say as Chris walks back to us with Chelsea and Snarl.

I glance at Lily and see her pale at the sights of Snarl. "N-Nice puppy." She says.

"It's okay, Lily. Snarl's friendly." I say as Snarl walks to her and sniffs her. She slowly reaches down and he licks her hand, making her smile.

"I don't think I met you yet." Chris says.

Lily looks at him. "Lily Ortiz." She says, extending her hand.

He shakes her hand. "Chris Rudy. This is my girlfriend, Chelsea Jernigan." I say then Lily and Chelsea shake hands.

I saw Britney, Cody, and Jocelyn walking by. Britney smiles at Chris and he waves at her. She waves back.

"What's all that about?" Lily asks.

"Chris and Britney are cousins." I reply.

She nods.

"Why be happy to this punk?" Cody asks.

Chris snaps his fingers and Snarl starts barking and growling at Cody. Chris soon whistles once and Snarl stops.

"That mangy mutt won't always protect you." Cody says.

"You think I need protection?" I ask.

Cody simply frowns and walks to the gymnasium with Jocelyn. I see a scared look on Lily's face. "It's okay. Chris has Snarl trained really well." I say as she and I walk into the gym together.

A minute later, I sit by Ava and tell her about a strange creature that attacked me last night. With her help, I find out if was a golem. After talking a bit, I end up having to sit next to another old friend of mine, Noah. I talk to him a little then see Stacy and the other cheerleaders. I feel heat in my cheeks at the sight of Stacy and try to hide it behind my hair.

Soon after seeing my old friend Andy was on the basketball team, and after Ben walks to the podium after the student body president, and another old friend, Lucas announces him, the lights and sound start to go out and soon Noah, Stacy, Lucas, Andy, Ava, Lily, and I hear a strange yet familiar voice.

 **"Everyone... plays... together..."**

* * *

 **That's chapter five. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


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